Setup and AdministrationSince this is a mobile hotspot, you don't need any drivers to use it. The Photon supports all 802.11 b/g devices on the 2.4GHz band. To connect, simply turn it on, and use your computer or device's wireless connection manager. You can connect up to 8 devices this way; I connected a phone, laptop, and a tablet at the same time and they all worked just fine.

You can also tether the modem to your computer via USB cable. I did so with a laptop running Windows 7 and it automatically installed its own drivers and connected quickly and easily. Speeds were similar to what I saw with Wi-Fi.

There's also an excellent Web-based management console, which you can access by sending a connected device to http://192.168.1.1. The console is well laid out and extremely easy to use. From there you can monitor signal strength and battery life, check out who's connected to the router, and control a wide range of router settings. It's fairly comprehensive, allowing you to change your Wi-Fi options, MAC address filtering, enable port forwarding and firewalls, and modify a host of security options, along with simpler options like changing your network name and password.

FreedomPop's Web site lets you monitor your data usage, invite friends, and earn additional free data. The site is well laid out and easy to use. When you first sign in, you're given a graphic at the top of the screen showing how much data you've used and how much you have left for the month. Usage details allow you to break this down further, showing you exactly how much data you've used over 15-minute periods.

FreedomPop also offers a few additional services for a small monthly fee. Usage Alerts will send you a message when you're within 200MB of your plan limit for $1.99 per month. Alerts are currently sent via email, but will also be deliverable by text message soon. There's also Protection Plus for $2.99 per month, which includes global repair coverage and mail-in repair for modems.

Performance I tested the Photon next to the Clear Spot Voyager on a rainy day in New York City. The results were nearly identical. It takes about a minute for the Photon to power on and report a 4G signal. According to the amber status light, I had a good, but not great, signal for the entire testing period. Once it was up and running it only took me a few seconds to connect.

Data speeds were solid. The Photon averaged 4.3Mbps down and 0.9Mbps up, while the Clear Spot pulled in 4.4Mbps down and 0.8Mbps up. Even if you pay an extra $2.99 per month for faster speeds, you're still capped at 12Mbps down and 1.5Mbps up. As we discovered in our testing for the Fastest Mobile Networks, Sprint's 4G WiMAX network (which is the same network that Clear and FreedomPop use), is a huge improvement over 3G, though it's not as fast as 4G LTE on most carriers. But I don't see a problem, since there's no option for unlimited data here and therefore you don't want to be streaming HD video or downloading huge files.

The Photon offers a 100-foot range, which is standard. Speeds remained strong within about 50 feet of the hotspot before starting to drop off. You can use it from 100 feet away, but you'll see a serious impact on speed. If you're planning to use this at home, I'd make sure to place it in a location central to where you'll be using it, and preferably where you get good reception.

ConclusionsOn its own, the Freedom Spot Photon is a solid hotspot. Combined with a free plan from FreedomPop, it's an innovative new way to get online for free. It's a great, inexpensive option for staying connected on the go, and a worthy recipient of our Editors' Choice award. NetZero offers 200MB of free data per month with its NetZero 4G Hotspot, but that only lasts for a year and you need to buy a modem.

If you want unlimited data, check out the Clear Spot Voyager. It looks and performs identically to the Photon, but Clear offers unlimited 4G data for $49.99 per month. And though we haven't reviewed it yet, the Overdrive Pro 3G/4G Mobile Hotspot from Virgin Mobile gets you unlimited 4G WiMAX on the same network for as little as $35 per month.

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Alex Colon is the managing editor of PCMag's consumer electronics team. He holds a Bachelor's Degree in English Writing and Literature from Pace University and got his start editing books before deciding technology would probably be a lot more fun.
Though he does the majority of his reading and writing on various digital displays, Alex still loves to sit down and read a good, old-fashioned, paper and ink book in his free time. (Not that there's anything wrong with ebook readers.)
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